After the exit of activist and board member Dan Loeb, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer is looking to consolidate control over the board in a Borg like move. (Getty Images)

Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer and shareholder activist Dan Loeb, who led the push to recruit her, are not parting on good terms, The Post has learned.

Loeb, who stepped down from Yahoo!’s board after unloading the bulk of his shares, clashed with his handpicked chief over the company’s strategy, in particular cost-cutting, said sources close to the board.

When Mayer took the helm a year ago, Loeb’s plan was to fire between 20 percent and 30 percent of Yahoo!’s roughly 12,000 workers — an idea Mayer initially supported, according to one source.

“She quickly decided it did not make sense,” the source said. “She liked being loved.”

A spokeswoman for Loeb didn’t respond to a request for comment. A Yahoo! spokesperson said it did not comment on rumors.

As a corporate agitator and later a board member, Loeb, the head of hedge fund Third Point, helped steer the company for two years and was seen as the engineer of its ongoing turnaround.

During his tenure, he orchestrated the ouster of former Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson over a résumé-padding scandal, reorganized the board and hired Mayer away from a top job at Google.

Loeb, who started accumulating Yahoo! shares at around $11 a share, pocketed nearly $1 billion in profit as investors followed Mayer into the company, pushing the stock up to nearly $30. It closed yesterday at $27.96 and is up nearly 75 percent in the past year.

Despite the stock surge, there are still challenges, including its struggling display-advertising business.

When Loeb announced his Yahoo! exit, he and Mayer took turns praising each other. Loeb said he was “pleased to have played key roles in Yahoo’s resurgence,” while Mayer credited him with “the vision to see Yahoo for its immense potential.”

Loeb hashed out a deal to sell two-thirds of his Yahoo stake, or 40 million shares, at $29.11 apiece, back to the company.

As part of the deal, the three directors nominated by Third Point — Harry Wilson, Michael J. Wolf and Loeb — agreed to step down on Wednesday.

But his exit has some investors worried about the company’s prospects and questioning Mayer’s strategy.

Now, Mayer is working on remaking the board, with more directors expected to leave, sources said.

Yahoo! has hired recruitment firm Spencer Stuart to hire at least three new board members, one source said.

There is at least one additional board member of the seven remaining who is considering leaving, according to three sources.

Without Loeb, Mayer is in full control of the company, sources said.

“Marissa does whatever she wants. She calls board meetings at her house, she can be an hour late, she doesn’t care. She knows they’re not going to get rid of her,” said one source.

Some Yahoo! board members were troubled by Mayer’s acquisition binge.

The company has acquired nearly 20 companies, including the $1 billion Tumblr deal.

“There was heartburn over Tumblr,” the unprofitable micro-blogging service, said one source.